


I Tried

by My_Alter_Ego



Category: White Collar
Genre: Gen, Past Relationship(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27366655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Alter_Ego/pseuds/My_Alter_Ego
Summary: Sometimes truth comes out of the mouths of babes, and maybe even con men.
Relationships: Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Comments: 8
Kudos: 60





	I Tried

Peter had insisted that Neal come with him to a wake at a fallen FBI agent’s home in Queens. “Peter, he worked in the Counterterrorism Unit, and I never even met the man,” Neal objected.

“Doesn’t matter,” Peter said sharply. “He was one of ours, and the Bureau is all about solidarity, especially at a time like this.”

So, that is how Neal found himself expressing his sympathy to a grieving widow, then taking refuge outside on a patio while Peter talked with colleagues. The con man discovered he wasn’t alone. A small child was sitting on the flagstone building a structure with Legos.

“Hey, there,” Neal said softly as he lowered himself down to be less intimidating to a boy of about five or six years old.

The child looked up and managed a tiny smile and a wave. “So, what are you working on?” Neal started a dialogue.

“A tower,” was the short reply.

“Well, it looks like it’s going to be an impressive building. Maybe one day, when you grow up, you’ll become an architect, which is just another word for a really good tower builder,” Neal grinned.

The boy contemplated this for a few seconds before answering. “I want to be an astronaut, but now maybe I should become a policeman like my Daddy was.”

Neal found there was a lump in his throat. “My Dad was a policeman, too, and I thought I wanted to be just like him when I grew up.”

“Did you?” was the innocent query.

Neal decided to sidestep that minefield with a bit of redirection. “Maybe what you can become right now, Buddy, is the best little boy you can be to help your Mom. The days ahead are going to be tough ones, so she’ll really need you.”

The child nodded solemnly. “Is that what you did?—when you were little, I mean.”

“I tried,” Neal answered truthfully.


End file.
